TO SAY a lot has happened to Beverley Knight over the past decade is something of an understatement.

TO SAY a lot has happened to Beverley Knight over the past decade is something of an understatement.

Since her debut single Flava Of The Old School in 1996, the Wolverhampton soul queen has won three Mobo awards, received a string of Brit award nominations, performed in front of Nelson Mandela and Muhammed Ali and recorded three critically acclaimed Gold selling albums.

You can also add singing on the Band Aid 20 single last year, recording duets with Jay Kay, Jools Holland and Courtney Pine, being part of the BBC hit show Just the Two Of Us - all by the age of 32!

Beverley, from the Penn area of the city, even got the chance to realise a childhood dream by singing with one of her heroes Chaka Khan, on stage last year.

She says: "That was truly amazing and definitely one of the highlights of my career so far.

"Although, I did not know what to do with myself because she found out I was in the crowd and dragged me on to the stage to sing with her - despite the fact I hadn't done my hair or anything!

"But there have been so many highlights in the last 10 years, such as singing in front of Muhammed Ali and Nelson Mandela and the success of my albums."

An overview of her career, 'Voice - The Best Of Beverley Knight', was released on Monday, featuring hits including Get Up, Shoulda Woulda Coulda, Come As You Are.

She adds: "This is a celebration of what has happened to me so far and an introduction for people who may have just discovered me through The Two Of Us.

"It certainly doesn't mean the end of my career, but I suppose it is the end of a chapter."

The start of her next chapter will see her supporting Take That, on their comeback national tour, which brings them to the NEC next month and again in May.

She says: "When I started, Take That were still going and, although he had left, Robbie hadn't started his solo career. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a fan and no-one can deny that Back For Good is a great song so the shows will be nostalgic for me and I'm excited."

After the Take That tour, the former Highfields Secondary School pupil will carry on working on her fourth album, as well as embarking on her own headline tour.

She could also have the added pressure of increased media attention, after teaming up with presenter Nicky Campbell in the BBC duets show The Two Of Us.

She says: "Okay, Nicky isn't a singer but I've made a friend for life there and the show was a chance to sing in front of a mainstream TV audience."

But, to add to the good times that Beverley is currently experiencing, she would dearly love to see her beloved Wolverhampton Wanderers FC back in the Premiership.

She says: "They haven't done as well I expected, but they have improved recently and are staging a bit of a comeback.

"Maybe the problem is because Glenn Hoddle was a great player in his day, albeit with a dodgy perm, he now expects the same standard from his players."